Customers stranded as Saki banks close early

Hundreds of bank customers in Saki town, Oyo State, were stranded on Monday after purported security alert forced banks in the town to close early.

Officials of the banks refused to speak on the nature of the security alert or its source but some of the customers said they were told by bank officials that the banks had network difficulty.

They also said that they were told to stay away for some hours while effort was made to ensure adequate security was put in place to forestall any unfortunate incident.

“We came to the bank today only to observe that the gates were locked. When we approached some of the bank officials, we were told that there was no network to process transaction and the gates would be opened after the problem was sorted out,” a customer, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said.

She added, “After some hours, an official of the bank told some of us that there was security alert and that they were waiting for the police to beef up their presence before they attend to customers.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officers of the Oyo State Police Command, Adekunle Ajisebutu, denied any knowledge of security threat in the town.

He said, “There is no threat to banks in Saki area or anywhere in the state. However, to allay any fear, area commanders, DPOs and patrol officers have embarked on 24-hour constant patrol and surveillance of the areas as well as other parts of the state where banks are located.

“The Commissioner of Police has equally mandated them to fortify the banks and other vulnerable places across the state. Banks and citizens are enjoined to go about their legitimate businesses.”

Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.